


Young Survivors

by Karezi413



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, Humanstuck, Multi, Multiple Deaths, Zombiestuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-12 23:36:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3359483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karezi413/pseuds/Karezi413
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Its hard being a teenager. Especially when death is staring you in the face. 15 teenagers fight for their lives while facing horrible zombies. Who will make it, and who will perish to the flesh eating foes?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Equius slammed the trap door after he got through, latching it. He looked over at the others latching closed the windows. Fifteen teenagers stood in the above stage department. Originally it was used to store props and scenery, but now it was a safe room for the teens, protecting them from the flesh eating monsters.

 

The kids approached the center, looking at one another who had made it. Some were surprised who had made it and who hadn't. For the amount of kids from after school activities, the number was so small. One long black haired girl with glasses and green eyes stepped forward.

 

"I think while we have a moment, we should introduce ourselves." She said, taking charge. Her green shirt had rolled sleeves to her elbows, a lovely pink sash draped from her hip, over her jeans. "My name is Jade Harley, I'm the only member here from the gardening club." She frowned, looking next to her. The dark skinned black haired man smiled. His eyes were a calming blue and he was the tallest of the teens.

 

"Name's Gamzee and this motherfucker and I came from the art club." Gamzee said, pointing to the short girl beside him. Gamzee stood with a slouch, the words on his shirt read 'I don't give a motherfuck'. The girl on the other hand had paint on her face, her brown hair cutely framing her face. Her green eyes only added to her cute.

 

"I'm Nepeta Leijon, good to meet you." She said, smiling up at the muscular boy next to her. She wore a smock covered in paint, underneath she had a cat shirt with shorts. The boy next to her nodded, shaking his black hair a bit. Behind his sunglasses he hid cool blue eyes.

 

"I'm Equius Zahhak. From the body building club. I love being strong." He wore a tank top and shorts. Behind him stood another tall guy, just an inch taller. His hair was a honey blonde, his eyes were dual colors of red and blue.

 

"I'm Sollux Captor. Me and Kk here came from gaming." He said pointing to the short boy beside him. He wore a shirt with a picture of a controller reading, 'I'm prepared.' The boy next to him had jet black hair and rare red eyes.

 

"I'm Karkat, not fucking 'kk'!" He said with a growl. His hands were stuffed in his grey sweatshirt pockets. The girl beside Jade spoke up. Her hair was a beautiful brown, her eyes a striking green color.

 

"I'm Kanaya Maryam. From Fashion, along with ms. Lalonde here." She said, gesturing to the blonde beside her. She wore a pretty and plain red dress. The blonde beside her had lovely lavender eyes and a smile.

 

"I'm Rose Lalonde." She wore a nice shirt and long skirt, both favoring purple. The boy beside her had similar blonde hair, but held piercing red eyes similar to Karkat.

 

"I'm Dave Strider." He said simply, dressed in two shirts, the outer one had a crow on it. Not to mention he had skinny jeans on. The boy next to him smiled up at him. His hair was a cool black, his eyes blue as water.

 

"I'm John, and I came from science! And I'm Dave's best friend." John wore a navy sweatshirt that simply said 'Science club!' in white. One of the girls in the skimpy cheerleader outfits stood forward. She was a redhead with green eyes. She was the shortest of the fifteen, only an inch or two smaller than Nepeta.

 

"I'm Terezi Pyrope, from cheerleading, and I wish this could've happened on a debate day, I look like an airhead." She said, dropping her pom-poms. She stood in a short skirt, sleeveless cheerleading costume, colored in school colors -yellow with red accent-. Next to her stood a long blonde haired girl with brown eyes. She wore a matching outfit to Terezi.

 

"I'm Feferi Peixes, also from cheerleading." She gave a small smile to the blonde girl beside her. Her hair had a blue streak in it to match her eyes.

 

"I'm Vriska Serket." She said, unamused. She wore a plain sweatshirt and plain blue jeans. The boy beside her gave a small smile. He had a mexican look to him, holding a weapon from fencing. His eyes were a gentle carmel brown.

 

"I'm Tavros Nitram, judging by my weapon, you can tell I'm from fencing." He wore nothing odd, just a plain brown shirt and pants. Lastly the boy with the blonde hair and purple streaks spoke. His eyes contrasted his hair with brown eyes.

 

"I'm Eridan Ampora. From swimming. Lucky for me we weren't in the pool today." His outfit seemed a bit hipster with a scarf, glasses and other kinds of things.

 

"Listen. Me and Kk will do the leading. We've played zombie games before." Sollux said, nodding slightly.

 

"Then I should be able to lead. I play zombie games and other kinds of shooting games daily." Terezi spoke, grinning.

 

"Listen girly. This is nothing to joke about. Just stay behind and cower in fear." Sollux said, babying her. Terezi glared at him.

 

“Excuse me shut the fuck up, I might be a cheerleader but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what I know!” She said, growling.

 

“It’s not just that. You’re probably an over the top big tit blonde cheerleader who thinks shes smart, but really her IQ is in the negatives.” He smirked, pushing up his glasses. She smacked him in the face, hissing.

 

“Shut the fuck up! Besides, it’s red not blonde you colorblind freak!” Kanaya came between them.

 

“Shut up, this is no time to fight, or a time to be mean!” Kanaya glared at them both, huffing. “Just stop. We need to think of a way out of this.” Sollux glared at the girl, pissed.

 

"I think we can open the left window and jump into the parking lot. I saw a bus out there. As long as we can hotwire it, we can get the fuck out of here. Does anyone know how to hotwire a car?" John asked, opening up a window. Gamzee stood up.

 

"I motherfuckin do." They turned to him. "But I'm your most useful asset right now. You better not let me die. So I'm not going first." He backed away.

 

"You're also the loudest asshole." Karkat said, slouching.

 

"I'll do it. I know how to be virtually soundless. Walking I mean." Feferi approached Terezi as she moved to the window. Both girls looked at each other, they'd both go together a team or not at all. "Tie a rope to the handle of the door and push some stuff on the door so it won't open." Sollux nodded, impressed by the blonde cheerleader.

 

Karkat grabbed some rope from the wall and tossed it to Rose. Rose wrapped it tightly around the handle, tossing the rest to Feferi. She let the rope fall out the window, as far as it would go. Equius and Gamzee pushed and threw props over the door, securing it closed. Feferi looked at Terezi, gesturing her to go first.

 

"You go first" Terezi sighed, muttering under her breath as she climbed onto the window sill. She sat down on it, grasping the rope. She gave it a small tug, turning herself a bit, scaling down the building. When she got to the bottom of the rope, she jumped, landing softly on her feet. She looked around to make sure she wasn't going to be pursued, hugging the wall.

 

Feferi watched her, knowing she was next. She repeated Terezi's moves, figuring it would be the best way down. Once down, she nodded again at Terezi, both girls quickly running quietly across the asphalt. Terezi pulled at the doors, forcing them open. She climbed on with Feferi, closing the door. Quickly the girls went down the bus, closing all windows open.

 

As the girls moved, Sollux climbed down, slightly jealous that a couple of girls just did something as great as they did. He moved fast, keeping an eye out for the undead. Once he got to the door, he got ready to open the doors like the cheerleader had done before, but of course it was the same cheerleader who opened the door for him from the inside. He glared at her but headed on the bus.

 

Rose kissed Kanaya in case they would never see each other before climbing over the window sill and down the rope. Slowly the amount people on the bus increased, as the trapped people decreased. John exited last, but instead of getting on the bus right away, he ran around the bus, screaming as he saw Zombies on the other side, running. He spent too long fucking around. He ran on the bus and Karkat pulled the lever to close the door quick.

 

Gamzee quickly got to work, hotwiring the bus. The radio went off and Karkat turned on the bus. The sound of it starting up attracted a horde of undead. He pushed Gamzee out of the way, climbing into the driver seat. Karkat hesitantly looked at the buttons, concerned he didn't know how to drive it. The boy assumed it to be like a car in terms of driving, pushing on the gas pedal to get it moving. Once he was sure, he slammed his foot on the gas pedal, steering into the football field. He didn't care, he just needed to get out of there.

 

On one side of the field, zombies dressed like football players stood, the other with cheerleaders. Karkat drove right through both hoards, giving no shits to their deaths. Both Terezi and Feferi cringed as Karkat went right through the rest of the squad, but said absolutely nothing on the matter. Karkat turned on the windshield wipers, wiping blood off. Karkat drove right through a chainlink fence, onto the road. The bus nearly fell to the left as he made a sharp turn. Luckily the news of the undead hadn't spread as well as people hoped. The cemetery was near the electric company and the news station. Not only was the electricity gone, but so were the anchor men and women, along with the rest of the crew.

  
With that being said, the roads weren't too bad. There were cars of course, most with the left door ripped open, but it wasn't anything like rush hour. The doors weren't even a problem, Karkat just ripped the doors off with the bus, driving fast for safety.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

After driving so long, Karkat switched with John, Karkat lying down and sleeping on one of the seats as most of them did now. Only John had slept earlier; so he had to stay up now. John was much more careful and cautious. He used his turn signals, stopping at stop signs and everything. He was a bit too cautious for the end of the world driving. There was no plan on where to go yet, but John had his own plans. He drove down the highway, weaving in and out of lanes as it best suited him, running over Zombies by the amount. His windshield wipers were on full blast, wiping off blood and guts, as well as several limbs.

 

John took an exit off the highway, making a few turns as he went. Eventually gun shots were heard, alerting the young teens in the bus.

All fourteen -excluding John as he was the driver- teens rushed to the left side, looking for the shots fired. John turned left and it was then they took notice that they were in the parking lot of Costco, hardly any zombies insight. On top of the building stood men. Some with snipers and others with rifles.

 

"Open the garage!" One of the men shouted down. Then a garage door raised up. A man waved them to the garage. John drove up, pulling into the garage. When the door lowered all the way, the main doors to Costco opened. John opened the bus door, a small smile on his face. After John was off, the teens began to pile off the bus.

 

"Y'all a bit of young'uns to survive." Said one of the men coming up to them. "I'm the one in charge here. Name's Andy." He held his hand out to John. John took it and smiled.

 

"I'm John, we came from Micheal D. Scratch High." He shook the man's hand. "I was the one who thought to come here"

 

"Well lucky you did. We got supplies here to tide y'all over for years to come." He patted John's back and began to walk them inside.

 

"Uh pardon me but I don't think we'll stay here" Rose spoke, getting closer. "It may be a living but it's not a very good nor healthy one. I at least would like to get somewhere better." She hummed softly. "Oh and I'm Rose, Rose Lalonde." Andy looked to her than chuckled.

 

"Ah, I completely understand. Then say why don't y'all spend the night? We'll let you pick up some stuff before y'all head out." Kanaya interjected her opinion.

 

"That would be very kind of you. Thank you." She smiled and took Rose's hand.

 

"I'll even tell ya what I've heard. I hear there are some flights out by Washington. Also heard only North America has them flesh eatin zombies. If ya ask me, I think they're out for revenge." Vriska rolled her eyes, flipping her hair.

 

"So we'll regroup here in two hours?" Andy nodded.

 

"Sure, pick up some supplies and be back at eight." Terezi headed to Feferi, Karkat to Sollux.

 

"Let's go" They said in almost unison. Feferi chuckled and took Sollux's hand.

 

"Actually we're going to go together." Feferi smiled at him, pulling him along.

 

"What then who the hell am I going to hang around with?!" Karkat yelled at the fleeing two. Terezi sighed and looked at him.

 

"I could hang with you. As you can see I got ditched." Karkat looked at her, scoffing. Was he really expected to hang out with a cheerleader? How lame. What was this one of his rom coms?

 

"Ugh" Karkat gave another thought. If all of mankind were to be gone, they'd have to repopulate. He could totally bang a cheerleader, highest of the -now old- popularity ladder. "Fine." He began to walk, letting her catch up as he headed down an aisle.

 

Elsewhere Dave walked with Jade and John. Rose walked with Kanaya, Nepeta hung out with Equius. Tavros hung out with Gamzee, Vriska followed Eridan around, laughing at him as looked things over.

 

Feferi smiled as she walked with Sollux, humming. "Do you think we did a bad thing? You know abandoning the two?" Sollux shrugged and pulled her close to him.

 

"Either way, I get to hang out with just you, Ff." Sollux smooched her softly and took her down an aisle. He spent a lot of time with her. It was almost like to make up for not spending enough time with Aradia before she died.

 

Terezi stopped by some clothes, picking up some of them, sticking out her tongue. "This shit is ugly!" She put it all back, catching up to Karkat.

 

"You're not going to change out of your outfit?" She shook her head, shrugging a bit.

 

"It's ugly as fuck and... I don't know, I'm more flexible in this. Besides, how badass would it be if one of the few survivors, was a fucking cheerleader?" Terezi chuckled and trotted ahead until she bumped into someone. She looked up and scowled. "Oh Dave. Hey." She turned her head and crossed her arms.

 

"Hey there Pyrope." He said, pushing past her and Karkat, Jade and John following him. They waved at the pair as they did, smiling.

 

"Did you just, give Dave the cold shoulder?" Terezi nodded as she turned to Karkat. "Why?"

 

"I dated him in middle school. He cared too much about his image back then than he cared for me. So I broke up with him." Terezi figured they would have been friends if they hadn't dated.

 

"I'm so sorry Terezi." He told her, trying to appear nice to her.

  
“Let’s not think about it.” She took his hand and pulled him passed Kanaya and Rose, looking around for something.


	3. Chapter 3

Equius put the last box of food on the bus, sitting down as they awaited John. John stood outside the bus talking to the man in charge of the safehold.

"And yall sure you won't stay?" John shook his head.

"We can't live here waiting to die, we need to get somewhere we can live fine." John smiled "thanks for the food though." John boarded the bus, Vriska in the driver seat. The people in the costco took cover inside the main room, opening the garage. As soon as it would fit, Vriska drove the bus out, heading to the street. The main door burst open as Tavros ran out, racing for the bus, shouting for them to stop. He wasn't the fastest runner but he had the legs for it. After a mere minute, Gamzee noticed Tavros and rushed up.

"Vris, Tavbro is running after us! Stop the bus!" Vriska snapped her head back, catching sight of some zombies running behind him.

"If I do we all die!" She slowed down a bit, allowing him to get closer. He reached forward, Jade throwing open the back door, reaching for him. The tips of his hand grazed her hand as his ankle twisted and brought him down. Jade gasped, getting ready to jump for him.

"Jade no!" Dave came up behind her, grabbing her and stopping her, pointing to the zombies getting Tavros. He pushed her aside and grabbed the door, slamming it closed.

"Did we get him?" Asked Vriska, staring forward.

"Tavros is gone" John responded, sighing in his seat. Jade watched as Tavros stood up, eyes blank, skin pale. He was a zombie and she let it happen.

 

* * *

 


	4. Chapter 4

Rose sighed, she had been driving the bus for a while, and they were beginning to run out of gas. She closed her eyes, pulling off to a gas station. She turned off the bus, turning around in the chair.

“Listen, someone needs to go get gas. I think we should rotate between those who can’t drive. So Terezi, Jade, Sollux, Eridan, Tav-” She stopped herself. “Anyways, you four need to rotate between gas pumping.”

“I’ll go first.” Terezi said, standing up, looking around the area for any zombies, exiting the bus. Karkat stared at her, watching her go to the pump and try to figure it out.

“Come on John.” Karkat yanked John with him, exiting and going to help her.

“I can’t drive! I don’t know how to pump gas!” She huffed and looked over the buttons and nozzle. Karkat came up with John, pushing the right gas button.

“And lift the nozzle.” He told her, pointing to it. She lifted it up and looked at the gas cap. He reached and unscrewed it, pointing at it. “Put it in.” He said, Terezi inserting the nozzle. “Now pull this trigger like thing.” She pulled it, Karkat flipping the switch to keep it locked. “And wait” John groaned and looked at the gas station store, going and entering.

“Listen Rose I’m just saying maybe we should stop at a weapon store, like guns and knives! It could help protect us better.” Jade said, looking at her.

“But we can’t stop, if we stop we could get ambushed.”

“This bus will break down at some point, we’ll be defenseless if we don’t have something then. Please!”

“Listen Rose” Nepeta said, coming up. “Maybe Jade has a point, we could use some supplies for later.” Rose sighed.

“Maybe.” Terezi pulled out the nozzle and put it back.

“And now?”

“Well you’d go pay but I doubt we have to now.” He lead her back on the bus, Terezi sitting in front of Vriska, Karkat going back to to the back of the bus. He stopped when he noticed Sollux and Feferi making out in front of him. He thought for a second, then turned back around moving next to Terezi, sitting beside her. If Sollux was already making out with a girl he met a few days ago, he could flirt with a girl, maybe even kiss her a bit. She looked at him wth a chuckle.

“I thought you were sitting back there~” She grinned and moved in a little. He definitely could’ve been worse, besides he peaked her interests better out of everyone here.

“Hey wasn’t John with you losers?” Vriska said, leaning over the seat. Terezi pushed her face out of theirs, moving closer. Karkat smiled, happy that he wasn’t striking out, moving a little closer, one hand moving to hold hers, the other stroking her cheek. He moved in, going for it.

 **  
** The door to the gas station slammed open, zombies moving out, lead by a zombie-fied John. Rose gasped and closed the door, starting the bus and getting ready before taking off. The couple’s first kiss missing as they both slammed against the back of the seat in front of them. Vriska laughed at them, leaning back and sitting happily.

 

* * *

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Dave frowned as he felt the bus nearly die but pushed itself on. He looked around looking to figure out how far they got and what was nearby. The bus pushed itself a bit further before finally it broke down, it was dark out by then. Dave got up, wondering if he could wake everyone up without making a loud sound that would attract zombies. Dave looked around, opening the first aid kit, hoping for a flashlight. He grunted when he saw none, looking for something he could use. He grunted and grabbed a shoe off his foot, slamming it into a window to make a loud noise, waking people up but also breaking the window.

 

“Dave what the hell?” Rose asked, stretching from her seat.

 

“The bus broke down and none of you were awake so my solution was break a window, got a problem Lalonde? Too bad it happened.” Dave said with a somewhat snippy tone.

 

“Wait what?” Vriska stood up. “The bus broke down?”

 

“I told you it would Rose!” Jade told Rose, sighing.

 

“We gotta move, before we get attacked.” Dave added, groaning.

 

“Well why don’t we just fucking go then?” Karkat asked, standing up.

 

“Where do we go dumbass?” Sollux asked, leaning back in his seat.

 

“Why don’t we just go through the construction site?” Gamzee pointed at a nearby construction site.

 

“Because we-” Feferi stopped before realizing.

 

“Gamzee that is a great idea, let’s go” Kanaya said, opening the bus door, heading out first. “Grab some food everyone” She opened the storage on the side of the bus, grabbing a bag and putting it on her back. Gamzee followed after her, grabbing a bigger bag. Nepeta and Equius came out after, each grabbing a bag. Sollux led Feferi out to grab bags, followed by Kanaya. Terezi exited the bus, followed by Karkat. Vriska and Dave both got off, grabbing their bags. Three bags remained, one of them would be carrying two bags. Eridan got off, grabbing a bag. When Jade finally got off, she grabbed a bag and looked at the last one.

 

“Who’s taking the last one then?”

 

“You should since you took your sweet fucking time.” Karkat said, turning and heading towards the construction site. Jade groaned and grabbed the last bag, holding onto it as she followed him. The group progressed towards the construction site, a few looking around to make sure there weren’t any undead nearby. The cover of darkness worked in their favor, though it led to a fearful stigma.

 

“So what’s the real advantage of walking through a construction site?” Nepeta asked, looking up at the structure that stood tall and unfinished.

 

“If the zombies attack we’ll be able to climb I suppose” Equius told her, looking around.

 

“Haven’t you seen a video game? Zombies can’t climb.” Terezi pointed out, stepping a mud puddle.

 

“Hey look up there” Sollux said, pointing up. “This structure connects to the mall, there’s a door there.”

 

“Yeah it was supposed to be an addition to the mall” Feferi said, walking beside him.

 

“We could climb up and get to the door, a height advantage could work.” Dave said, looking for a structure they could climb.

 

“I was thinking because they might have weaponry in it.” Sollux said, looking as well.

 

“Hey what about the cherry picker?” Terezi said, pointing to the big thing.

 

“Too loud.” Karkat said immediately.

 

“Oh yeah because EVERYONE can climb up like that.” Kanaya added, rolling her eyes.

 

“Just listen! Everyone could get on the platform part, then we go as high as we can from there and then climb.” Terezi said, glaring at Karkat. He huffed and rolled his eyes.

 

“Fine but if anyone dies then it’s your fault.” He said, heading to the cherry picker. Slowly the group of teens huddled onto the cherry picker, Kanaya closing the door. Eridan stood close to the controls, turning it on. The machine made a loud noise before starting up. The machine moved up after jolting to the left, due to Eridan just learning the levers. Zombies slowly started to approach the machine, banging on it when they got close. The machine bounced a little at the banging, Eridan stretching it towards the tall structure. The machine was just barely out of reach, and when Eridan tried to move it closer, the machine refused to go. He wasn’t sure why, but he just got as close as he could. Gamzee looked down at the zombies, taking note of a boot on the cherry picker, probably to prevent theft.

 

“Hey motherfuckers, I thought you said they couldn’t climb” He said, watching a few climb onto the machine and slowly move up.

 

“Hey! I said in video games!” Terezi said, crossing her arms.

 

“Don’t care let’s move!” Karkat moved and jumped onto the structure. It wasn’t a large rod to stand on, in fact besides the ladder down from the wooden platform to the top, it would’ve been unclimbable. Karkat moved to grab the ladder, climbing up it. “This pole is kind of fragile, one person at a time”

 

“Who goes first?” Equius asked looking everyone over.

 

“Lightest to heaviest” Rose said, looking at the ladder. “I’d say Nepeta next” Nepeta looked over and moved to the edge, jumping and landing on the pole, balancing herself out. “then maybe Kanaya, Sollux, I think then it would be me. The rest of you can decide who after me.” Slowly they made their leaps, Sollux almost missed but balanced himself out, shuffling to the ladder.

 

“Hurry up! They’re getting closer!” Vriska shouted, glaring down at the zombies. Once Rose was climbing the tall ladder, Vriska jumped across, grabbing the ladder before Terezi jumped on. Gamzee moved across, following Terezi up the ladder, looking up her skirt. Once he was on the ladder, Jade went next, Dave after her. Eridan picked up a block of wood, smacking a zombie with it. Equius moved next, leaving Feferi and Eridan.

 

Jade slipped, eyes widening as she fell. Equius saw her fall, wrapping his legs around a bar, leaning out and catching her, helping her back on the ladder.

 

"Careful Harley." He told her, both moving back up. Feferi screamed as Eridan got bit, moving and jumping across quick, shuffling to the ladder.

 

"Wait Fef! Help!" He jumped across before she made it. The pole began to wobble as Eridan began to change.

 

"Fef, push him off!" Sollux shouted, slightly scared for her. She pushed him. as the bolts on the pole broke, gravity doing its work and bringing them down. Karkat looked at Sollux's mortified face, surprised he was handling losing another girlfriend so well. Not even a scream. Sollux shook a bit, mentally panicking that it happened again, he lost yet another person he was starting to care for. Finally Equius made it to the top, all of the remaining up top.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wonder who Ill kill off next, but I am trying to lose people fast so there's less people to focus with


	6. Chapter 6

Sollux was soon upset after they had ran into the mall and barricaded the door. The mall, as one would expect had some zombies, the group deciding to hide out in the big log ride attraction. It would’ve been harder to get in, but Nepeta picked the lock for them. Once they had made it in, they broke up some of the wood, making a fire with it. The idea wasn’t very wise, but it was dark and cold out. Karkat sighed and held Sollux as they all sat around the fire. 

 

“I can’t believe this is happening again…” He said quietly, holding his legs to himself.

 

“Again?” Rose looked at him with a small head tilt. 

 

“Yeah Sollux’s last girlfriend died too, it was kind of tragic because” Sollux cut him off with a small sigh.

 

“No kk, let me tell them.” Sollux sighed, staring into the fire.

 

“I was dating Aradia, you know the one who died over the summer. And we were really happy together, we’d spend time both on our laptops when we hung out. Well as you know…” He sighed again, thinking about it. “She was run over by a car over the summer and suffered a few weeks in the hospital before her family couldn’t keep her hooked up and they had to pull the plug.” The group was quiet for a moment or two, showing him some respect before Vriska spoke up.

 

“I don’t get why she got so much hype, just another dead girl, good riddance.” As she said that, zombies tore through the door to their hideout, slowly and quietly approaching them.

 

“Vriska shut up!” Terezi told her, moving towards Sollux. “I’m sorry for your loss Sollux, I know she really liked you…” She told him, thinking about her friend, frowning. “She was really nice too…” Sollux looked at her, wondering why this happened.

 

“I’m probably just cursed…” He said looking at the fire. He couldn’t bring himself to cry, it was something he didn’t do very often. Sure he cried when Aradia died, but he was much closer to her then, they had dated for a year and were actually in love. He only felt romantic feelings for Feferi. In truth they had met almost a week or so ago, and he was only at the like stage, he had feelings for her, but not intense enough to cry. Karkat sighed, looking up at the top of the flames, eyes widening as he spotted the quiet zombies behind Equius. He jumped up, looking around for a weapon.

 

“Zombie!” He shouted, everyone turned to the thing right after Equius was bitten, enraging Nepeta. She stood to her feet quick, grabbing a chunk of wood by the end not on fire, smashing the head in on the zombie.

 

“Don’t touch Equius!” She yelled, bashing the zombie repeatedly, furious. Her and Equius were the best of friends, he always told her he’d protect her, but she countered him, stating she’d protect him too, that’s exactly what she’d do now. Karkat grabbed Nepeta, she had been so concerned with him, she hadn’t realized her best friend was… changing. Or that everyone else was running. She felt a few tears fall as she ran with them, holding onto the wood.

 

Nepeta’s cheeks were wet with tears, unable to handle this. She couldn’t stand to see her best friend of so long turn into one of them. She clutched the wood, her pain fueling her rage as she felt something bubble inside of her. She smashed a zombie as she ran, hard enough to knock the jaw off. Kanaya held open a door to one of the boutiques, wide enough to let them in before closing the door, letting Dave bring over a table to block the door before she let go. It wasn’t so great being trapped here for now but it meant being alive. 

 

“I can’t believe we’re in such a… girly place…” Vriska said making a face. Nepeta sat down, tears still in her eyes as she held the wood. Karkat sat beside her, feeling a bit bad for her. Terezi frowned as she saw Nepeta cry, coming over and kneeling beside her. 

 

“I’m sorry Nepeta…” Terezi told her, hugging her. Once Karkat saw Terezi start to comfort her, he scooted away. He wasn’t sure if he’d get relationship points from Terezi for showing sympathy or if it’d just make him look like a mushy loser. He actually did feel bad for her, but he didn’t know how to approach it. That and he knew Nepeta had a crush on him, he didn’t want her thinking he liked her in that way. Instead of waiting around to find out, he grabbed some clothes off the racks, placing them down as bedding, wrapping a coat over him.

 

“I’m taking a nap. Don’t bother me.” He lied down on his clothes pile, closing his eyes. Kanaya looked at him, eyes locked on the clothes touching the ground. She wasn’t able to stop him though, Dave took the same approach, followed by Jade. Vriska lied on the hard ground, using a sweater to keep warm. 

 

“You make sure nothing goes wrong.” Rose told Sollux, briefly forgetting his grief as she got up, in search of something, finding a bench to lay on near the shoe section. Finally Kanaya sat down, finding a cute outfit as she did, resisting the urge to try it on. Nepeta held onto Terezi as she continued to cry, the pain growing more. Gamzee watched her misery for a moment before lying down and trying to sleep too. Soon however everyone asleep, even Sollux who had been designated to watch the door. He couldn’t help it, he was tired, he didn’t sleep last night, he just couldn’t sleep. 

 

It took awhile before someone woke up. Karkat was the first, the first thing that flickered into his vision was a pretty red orange color. It took him a moment to realize it was the back of Terezi’s head, she had been too lazy to make her own cushioning and just lied beside him probably. He sat up, putting the coat over her as he did. He saw the small feeble little pile the cheerleader had made. A large trench coat, some dresses with belts on them, too many hard objects for it to be comfortable, probably also why she had come to sleep beside him. He wasn’t complaining, it was a nice thing to wake up to he guessed. He took a moment to wonder why him, they hardly knew each other. Then he remembered she lost Feferi too, the last member of her squad, who else would she turn to? Vriska? They used to be best friends but they had a falling out around Aradia’s death. He must’ve been her closest friend now, sad.

 

He stood up, looking around, no zombies were at the door anymore, they were quitters apparently. Karkat turned around at the sound of a loud thud, seeing Vriska with a store mannequin in her hand and Gamzee on the ground beside her.

 

“What the hell happened!?” Vriska growled and glared at Gamzee.

 

“HE was hugging me in his sleep!” Jade and Dave awoke from Vriska’s outburst, according to their positions, Dave had been cuddling her. Jade blushed red as Dave pulled off, a small pink blush on his face.

 

“Sorry” He told her, turning away. 

 

“It’s fine.” She said, getting up. Rose awoke, almost gracefully as she sat up, yawning. Kanaya stayed down, listening to her friends. The only one still asleep was Nepeta who lied further away from the others, tangled in a mess of clothes. Terezi watched the girl, still feeling a bit bad for her. The girl’s eyes were red from the tears, she had clearly taken a large toll from this.

 

A growl was apparent, quiet but heard, low and intimidating. They turned to the source of the noise, Kanaya. “Sorry, I’m rather hungry.”

 

Sollux groaned as he got up, looking out the shop window. “Alright, I have a plan. The food court is downstairs on the ground floor, if we can get down there and hide in one of those stores, we could make small runs for food.” He got their attention, motivating the group to get up.

 

“So? What’s the motherfuckin plan?” Gamzee asked as he approached, rubbing his head. 

 

“I think what we should do is go to the escalators nearby and go down as quietly as possible. I think they were making a tempur-pedic down there near the food court. We could hold ourselves up down there.” Karkat said, watching the escalator. It looked fairly empty. Karkat nodded at them and started to move the table away from the door. “Who goes first?” He asked, looking around.

 

“I will” Nepeta said, sitting up. She wasn’t exactly asleep, but trying not to get up. Attention turned to her along with several worried expressions. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” She grumbled, holding onto the wood she kept from last night, it wasn’t on fire any more, but it was still better than no weapon. She slowly opened the door, peeking outside. There were zombies, that was expected but it seemed they would be able to slip past them. Rose grabbed a metal rod, the sort of thing employees used to grab some clothes on a higher hook. Dave took a moment to make sure everyone was ready to go before turning to Nepeta. 

 

“Go” He told her, at that she began to sneak out, eyes shifting in alert. Following her was Dave, then Gamzee, Jade, Rose, Kanaya, Karkat, Terezi, Sollux, and Vriska. Sollux had just set foot on the escalator when a zombie spotted them. He let out a loud roar, signalling the others.

 

“Run!” Sollux shouted, Nepeta hurrying faster down the escalator, everyone behind her speeding up.Instead of waiting, Vriska hopped on the rail of the escalator, sliding down it, getting off right as Dave got off. Terezi blinked, enjoying the idea, following her track, hopping on the rail and sliding down with a grin. Sollux rolled his eyes as he tried to hurry to keep up with Karkat now, a few zombies appearing at the top, starting to rush down.

 

Nepeta and Terezi took point past Vriska, heading towards the tempurpedic store first. Safety took priority over food for now. Both girls got in, Terezi lifting Nepeta up to pull down the safety chain door. Vriska ran in before Nepeta pulled it down low, getting off Terezi and moving it down so it was low enough to roll under. Dave ran, rolling under the door, watching the zombies close in on their friends. Gamzee rolled in, narrowly avoiding a zombie reaching for him, shouting out a ‘motherfuck’ with it. Jade tried to avoid the same undead, though she knew she wouldn’t be able to. Instead, she jumped up and roundhouse kicked him in the face, getting down and getting under the metal door as fast as she could. Karkat and Sollux sped past Kanaya and past Rose, quick to enter the store. Rose reached the gate, noticing her girlfriend wasn’t nearby. She turned around to see her running forward before crying out and falling. Rose’s eyes widened and ran to her, using the metal rod to fend off attacking zombies.

 

“Rose, go!” She shouted, trying to force herself up, her ankle aching in pain. It became obvious to the Maryam that she had twisted her ankle.

 

“No!” She shouted, bending the metal with every bash, clearly it wouldn’t hold much longer. Jade watched before trying to get back under to go help them, Gamzee grabbing and stopping her.

 

“Don’t, they’re overwhelmed. They won’t make it.” Suddenly the laidback boy seemed, different. Almost like he was intrigued by this. 

 

“What?! Gamzee let me go! I can help them!” She struggled and kicked against him, eyes wide as she watched her friends fall to the hands of the zombies. Dave shut the gate completely closed.

 

“Back up!” Terezi shouted, everyone making sure to stay out of the hands of the undead. Gamzee’s grip loosened and Jade pushed him away. 

 

“We could’ve helped them!”

 

“They were done for!” The others watched, not sure what to do.

 

“That’s because we didn’t help them! Do you have something against them!?”

 

“We don’t need to needlessly die for them!”

 

“Gamzee’s right” Vriska finally said, looking towards the gate. “They were being swarmed…”

 

“But we could’ve gotten them out.” Terezi added, not sure if she wanted to just oppose Vriska or if she believed it.

 

“Enough, it’s too late now…” Dave said, looking down. “We have to be more careful. We have eight people left, we need to be more cautious...” That was something they could all agree with.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a double chapter, I anted to put them together but I didn't, sorry.


	7. Chapter 7

It hadn’t been long since they lost the girls, Nepeta was the first one to look around the shop, feeling the beds they’d have for now. She looked towards what she presumed to be the back, the key to the back stuck in the door doorknob, the door slightly ajar. Nepeta approached the door, brushing it open. It swung open into a pitch black room. She thought for a moment, wondering how she could get more light, her phone was dead. Then she remembered she had a portable charger that she hadn’t used in a while. She pulled it out of her smock pocket, plugging it into her phone. She knew it had to have charge, she never used it, whenever she needed it, she forgot she had it.

 

In a few short minutes she turned on her phone, turning on the light and shining it forward. There hung the store manager by a noose. She took a step back, she hadn’t expected that. She probably would’ve granted the surprising reveal with more reaction, but with the way the world was going, she wasn’t all that surprised. She noticed a white envelope in his hand, wondering what it could say. She looked up at the dead face before moving in and grabbing the envelope. She headed out and turned off the light, closing the door even, sitting to read the letter inside the envelope.

 

_ To who ever reads this, _

_ Don’t be alarmed, well probably a bit too late for that, but the end of the world has come. I have taken my life so those undead won’t be able to take me. There’s something in this mall. This apocalypse is real, it’s not a dream. This mall directly correlates to the apocalypse somehow, I’m sure. Shortly after the zombies showed up here, they showed up other places. I’m sure the security bastards know this, that’s why they’re holed up in the guard tower. If you want a chance of survival I recommend going up there and getting answers from them and stopping the secret. They’re too scared to leave. However I’m not better, fear ruled me and I couldn’t act. Enclosed I have left a key. Take it to the elevator by the fountain. That elevator is the only one to take you to the secret fourth floor. Insert the key in the keyhole and open the panel door. There’s a button for the floor along with a bunch of other stuff. The elevator runs on it’s own power from the fourth floor, so you should be fine unless they shut it down, in which case, the emergency power is in a panel near the stairs by the Hollister. The fourth floor will give you a good view of the mall and I doubt the security will withhold this from you. I write this in hopes you’ll stop this hell before my wife and kids are hurt, the likelihood of that is slim but it’s all I can do. _

 

_ With best regards, _

_ Mike _

 

Nepeta held the letter tight at this point, fishing the key out of the envelope. She stood back up, listening to a few of the others argue. She presumed it was still about Rose and Kanaya. She folded the letter back up and slipped it into her smock pocket with the key. 

 

“Hey, guys? I think I know what we should do next.”

 

“Yeah, survive and ride it out, that’s obvious.” Vriska said, earning a glare from Terezi.

 

“Like that’ll help!”

 

“Of course, everything blows over.” Vriska said, rolling her eyes.

 

“The uprising of fucking zombies are an exception!”

 

“What do you think will happen when they run out of resources!? Die out!”

 

“No! I found a letter from the manager who worked here, he recommends going up to the security guards on the fourth floor.” Nepeta handed the letter to Vriska, knowing she was basically the leader right now. Terezi glared at Vriska for getting it first, but watched her for reaction.

 

“Well,  _ I  _ didn’t get to see it yet, but if they’re alive up there, then I think we should try to regroup with more people. They might have protection.” Vriska finished scanning it over, she could throw reasons out of why not to trust the letter but she knew they would ultimately go for it. She handed the letter to Terezi.

 

“Well fine, that might work. Where’s the key?” Nepeta pointed to her pocket. “Then let’s tell the others.

 

“Do we go straight for the elevator?” Terezi asked, finishing it shortly. “Maybe we should go for the backup panel first, it is on the way…” Vriska thought about it, she had planned on just going straight to the elevator.

 

“Yeah, I was going to say that. We need a crowbar or something in case it won’t open.” Terezi nodded and handed the letter to Sollux, heading off to search the back for one, Nepeta following her to assist with the lighting.

 

“Wait, we’re just going to go with what this dead man says? What if it’s a hoax?” Sollux inquired, keeping a fairly straight face. 

 

“Well if it’s a lead, it’s a lead” Jade said, reading over his shoulder. Gamzee on the other hand sat on a bed, just listening to them. 

 

“I don’t think I’ll go with you motherfuckers, I think I’ll lie back and sleep. It’s been too long of a messed up day.”

 

“You’re just electing not to go?” Karkat asked, looking at his old friend. “That doesn’t make much fucking sense. We should just stick together.” Gamzee looked at him and flashed him a grin, lying back.

 

“I’ll be safer here anyways. If you motherfuckers die, someone will need to live to tell the tale.” He patted Karkat on the shoulder before turning over. “Oh and good luck with you know who.” He said, closing his eyes.

 

“Gamzee I’m not going to fucking let you stay here you shithead.” He waited for a response. But the only response he got from the man was a loud snore.

 

“He’ll probably fine.” Dave said, looking over at the tall guy. “He just put himself to sleep in record time, I think he’ll take care of himself well enough.”

 

Terezi grinned, carrying out a crowbar. “Guess who got lucky!”

 

“Clearly not you, I mean look at you.” Vriska commented. It definitely wasn’t the best, but it did well enough. Terezi glared and held it up.

 

“I found one.” Vriska grabbed it and pulled it out for her hands. 

 

“Thank you for this lovely gift, of course I’ll accept it.” Terezi glared and huffed. 

 

“I found it, I’m going to use it!”

 

“Hell no, I can use it to bash in a head or two if I needed to. You go ahead and do some sort of cheer cheerleader.” Terezi growled, moving in, Karkat moving in and holding her back. This wasn’t the time to fight.

 

“At least I wasn’t failing school bad enough to do recovery!”

 

“And meanwhile, the purronderful peace keeper Nepeta found a bat to hit others with!” Nepeta said, coming close with a wooden bat. “It was under the counter, probably for when they had trouble with customers.” Nepeta smiled. “It’s good for killing zombies with and for bashing teammates who insist on fighting!” She handed the bat to Karkat, picking up her wooden board again. 

 

“Ugh let’s just get this over with then” Sollux said, done with the drama. First Jade and Gamzee and now Terezi and Vriska. The sooner it was over the sooner he wouldn’t have to hear it. Death would almost be more favorable than this fate. 

 

“Fine, fine.” Vriska said, heading to the gated door. Lucky for them the zombies had given up after awhile. She grabbed the handle and pulled up, opening the gate a bit. One by one they ducked out, starting with Jade and ending with Vriska who closed the gate. It was a simple precaution for Gamzee who stayed behind. They moved quietly, looking around for the undead. It seemed to return to how it had been before, a scarce amount of zombies, only a few. It almost looked like they were monitoring the perimeter, of course that would be silly. The seven of them reached the panel too easily, Vriska stuck the crowbar in and pushed, trying to force the panel open with a bit of struggle.

 

“Woo. Go Vriska. That’s our bitch.” Terezi said very enthusiastically.

 

“What the hell are you doing?” Vriska asked, prying it open finally.

 

“Cheering. Sorry, I mean.” She cleared her throat. “Go go Vriska! She’s our girl! She can do it!” Her voice had gained excitement, but she was very clearly mocking a cheer. Sollux went to work, figuring out which switch operated which, ignoring the girls.

 

“Wow Pyrope, the only thing you’re good at and you suck at it.”

 

“Girls seriously!” Jade said, pushing them apart. “We’re getting sick of it.” Jade said, glaring at both of them.

 

“Yeah it’s get really ol-” Just as Nepeta started, all the lights turned on, along with the mall’s background music. 

 

“Shit, I think I turned on everything.” Sollux said. A sudden roar came over the mall, an unfamiliar one.

 

“And I think that might be our cue to move fast.” Dave commented, pointing towards an impending horde. Eyes widened before feet moved fast, heading to the elevator. Nepeta pulled ahead, reaching the destination first, one side of the elevator door was missing, the other severely bent, however it wasn’t time for questions. She turned the key, popping open the panel. She watched, waiting for the others. Vriska banged in a head with her crowbar, sliding almost too dramatically into the elevator, Jade entering after her. Between her and Sollux is where it lagged, Vriska keeping the zombies at bay. Sollux rushed in, Dave hot on his trail. Karkat lagged a bit, Terezi shortly behind him.

 

Once Karkat was in, Vriska pushed Nepeta against the button, attempting it to look accidental. Without Terezi, she wouldn’t have any doubt. The elevator made it’s moving sound, everyone else’s eyes widening. Frantic shouting for Terezi to hurry up surrounded the blonde, Terezi speeding up. Just as it started to move up, Terezi jumped and caught on the edge, pulling herself up and on the elevator.

 

Unfortunately with her added weight, the elevator stopped, passing its maximum. Everyone quickly looked at each other.  What were they supposed to do, their weight was too great for the elevator to move.

 

“Terezi, do you see what you did!? You’re too heavy!” Vriska said immediately. 

 

“What?! How is this my fault?!” Vriska glared at her.

 

“We were moving before you got on here! It’s probably because half of your piggy weight is in your curves! I told you they were more harm than good!”

 

“First off you did not! Second off, I am not! Besides, you clearly pushed Nepeta, I saw you!”

 

“I bumped her!”

 

“Get off already! Let us survive!”

 

“ENOUGH!” Sollux shouted, glaring, face of rage. “One of you get the fuck off!!!! I can’t stand it!” Terezi and Vriska looked at him. “We’ll vote you bitches off!”

 

“What?” Vriska asked, confused.

 

“I vote Vriskers goes.” Nepeta said, looking at Sollux.

 

“We’re really doing this?” Vriska said before rolling her eyes. “Whatever”

 

“Terezi.” Dave said, looking away.

 

“Vriska’s taking charge, we can’t lose her.” Jade said. “Sorry Terezi.” Jade added, frowning.

 

“Vriska, duh.” Karkat said, looking at Terezi.

 

“Sorry Terezi, you’re driving me batshit.” Sollux said.

 

“Looks like Terezi’s meeting her fate.” Vriska said, holding back a smirk. Terezi stood there, speechless, she didn’t expect this to be her downfall. Nepeta frowned, hugging her friend, Karkat looking at her a bit more before stepping closer to her.

 

“I’ll miss you.” He told her, planting a soft kiss to her lips. Terezi blinked, surprised, a faint blush creeping up on her face. That was something she wanted to experience before she met her end. Karkat sighed, looking through the glass of the elevator. He used the bat to bash the glass out, handing Terezi the bat. “You’ll need this more than me.”

 

Before anyone could predict, Karkat jumped to the zombies, stunning the others. Eyes were wide as he did so, the elevator booting back and zooming up. Sollux felt tears fill his eyes, his long time friend gone right before him. Terezi couldn’t believe she saw it right, blinking a few tears in her eyes. He gave his life for them. She held the bat before screaming at him below. He jumped for her, so she wouldn’t have to die yet. Her body washed over with a mixture of emotions. They weren’t even fully romantic yet and he gave his life for her. It stung her like a bee, she wasn’t ready to lose him, he was still someone she wanted to get to know and possibly date. But now, she was stuck with a guilty conscious and a breaking heart.

 

“Did he just…?” Jade started, eyes still wide, simply earning a nod and nothing else.

* * *

 


End file.
